HISTORY OF THE PC THERAPIST

First program to win the Loebner Prize

The first PC Therapist program was written in 1986. Joseph Weintraub, the author, had graduated with a degree in Psychology, and then immediately become a Mainframe Computer Programmer. The frustrated therapist in him spilled out into the program, and gave the PC Therapist it's Woody Allen type humour and helpful tone.

He wrote the Therapist shortly after buying and returning the most famous Artificial Intelligence program, ELIZA. Eliza is a simple but clever program that mimics a Rogerian Therapist by turning your own words and phrases back at you. If you say "I need my Mommy", ELIZA will say "Tell me why you need your Mommy?" However, ELIZA has no knowledgebase and nothing of its own to talk about.

1. Loebner Prize - The Loebner Prize is an annual competition in artificial intelligence that awards prizes to the computer programs considered by the judges to be the most human-like.

2. Artificial Intelligence - Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence demonstrated by machines, as opposed to the natural intelligence displayed by animals and humans.